Tag Archives: reviews

I woke up at 2 am with an epiphany of sorts and the deep desire to share it with you. I realize that I have not blogged in some time – too busy with writing and life… but this you have got to hear.

How many authors really LIKE reviews? Hmmm. I for one have reviews that I like, but I also have some that I want to grab the reviewer and shake them and say…. “You don’t even know the details of the story; you are missing MAJOR parts and your reading comprehension is way off base – how could you possible understand it???”

That being said, even those who have the wrong name for the main character, have no idea of the year or context of the book, or have missed some giant detail that makes everything they know about a book completely false – even they can and do have some merit. That is exactly the case with a review I just saw come through a few days ago that says that one of my books is NOT a romance, and to her I can emphatically reply – NO – it’s not!!!

I have said this to so many people at meet and greets, Facebook Events, and book signings – I don’t write romance, even though my books almost always contain a romantic element. The people in my stories are always caught up in an incredible adventure, sometimes an incredibly HORRIBLE adventure; that’s what my stories are about. They are suspense and/or thriller. When, how and even IF they fall in love is something that happens along the way, not the reason their story is being told. Sometimes they end up together and sometimes they don’t, and this isn’t CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE, so YOU do not get to pick the ending.

My books will never be Harlequin’s; they will never follow a ‘romantic arch’ or fit in any cookie-cutter mold you want to stuff them into with a neatly predictable plot line. There are going to be surprises you didn’t see coming. There are going to be elements you never thought of and choices (hard damn choices) you aren’t always going to understand or like. That’s what a Samantha Jacobey book is all about, and I have enough GREAT reviews to know that is exactly what MANY readers enjoy most about my work.

So what did I gain from this cathartic awakening? I realized that I LOVE reviews – even bad ones! I love to have people say things that get me to thinking and considering the possibilities; I guess that’s the debater in me. They help me get to the deepest question of them all – why? I find myself asking that most often after someone has blasted me on Amazon or Goodreads, and like with all living things, I find that struggle and strife are good for me; they help me to reflect and make me stronger in the end.

Therefore, I want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who writes a review – good, bad, wrong, or ugly. You keep voicing those opinions, and I will keep putting out books that make you scratch your head and say… “Damn; I didn’t see that coming.”

I NEED A MOMENT… I am nearly in tears this morning…
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Things are so hectic right now, with everything I am working on… so many GOOD THINGS going on around me, and it is hard for us sometimes to accept those things at face value.
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What I would really like to do is to say thank you.
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THANK YOU to every person who has left a review for one of my books – whether they are short, and direct, or they are long and drawn out.. even the typos and the inaccuracies from the story (even a few character names are wrong, and I seriously lmao at that!!!)
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I love them all and I appreciate every single one, because you read my stories and you took the time to post a word about them…
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~ ~ ~ REVIEW COUNT TODAY ~ ~ ~
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5 stars – 94 <<< holy sh*t!!!!
4 stars – 38
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132 total 4&5 stars out of 141 total reviews!!!
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THAT IS 94%!!!!
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I am completely blown away… so happy right now, you cannot imagine… happy because I have shared something of myself with you… and you love it as much as I do…. thank you so much… I am so glad that you understand.
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❤ Sam

I have been working very hard to promote the New Life series, and it has been quite an exciting and time consuming endeavor. Tiring would be another way of putting it. I work 40+ hours per week at my job, plus every waking moment that I possibly can on my books. Even when I am not ‘working’ on them, I am thinking about them, and I am consumed by the story that will not let me go until I have spilled it all onto the pages. I have thought of this story every day for years, and once I started putting it down, I found that it does in fact have a life of its own. I have 2 books left to write of the 7, and I have often wondered if working this hard is really worth it, or if I am really just wasting my time.

Today, I had two reviews posted for CAPTIVE that have answered that question for me. In essence, these two ladies had left me speechless, and I have been thinking of little else all day. I knew I was going to make a post for this. I have not had time to make posts regularly in ages, but for this, I will make an exception.

The first review I found as I was leaving for the school, and was accompanied by an email apologizing for how long it has taken for her to read and review my book. No apologies are needed. Every review that is given, I appreciate from the bottom of my heart, but I would never want anyone to feel obligated to provide a review. The second I found when I arrived at work and was finally able to log into my computer and peek at Amazon to check my rank and facebook before the the mad rush of my day. That is my routine; I center down and see where I stand, then set it all aside and spend 8 hours straight being a teacher, with a 24 minute lunch. After that, I get to go home, and work on this until I go to bed, and am very pleased to do so.

Today, I realized that so many people love my story. I already knew that many people liked it. I have gotten good reviews before, and have fans that have become like friends because of facebook and the way it lets us get to know each other, even though we live across the country and around the world. Today was different. Today, one of those ladies called my work ‘a masterpiece.’ That my friends, took my breath away.

I am not going to post the reviews here. Instead I am going to give you a link at the bottom, and you can go and see all of the reviews that my books have been given. All of the heartfelt comments that my followers have left upon my wall at Amazon. That is after all what I want you to do when you read my stories; feel something. Feel angry, feel scared, feel happy. If you don’t, then I am not doing something right, and that is the hardest part for me, accepting that I am doing it right.

The two reviews that were posted today are moving, as are many others, and I am finally able to say, I did a good job. Maybe now, I can stop worrying about what I should have done to make it better, and just let the rest of the story be what it is.

In the end, I hope that you enjoy all of my story, but I already know that you won’t. I chopped it up into 7 parts. Some parts are graphic; some are painful. A small amount is sweet, and there is even some sad. There will be tension filled pieces to the tale, and there will be times of peace, growth and introspect. The eye of the hurricane is what I call book 3, and I know it is the best so far for some, and too slow and calm for others. I smile to myself when you tell me these things, because I know things I cannot share, as far as what is in the past and what lies ahead for our growing cast.

It wouldn’t be fair for me to spoil this journey that you are now on, this path that my books will lead you down. So instead, I will leave you with a word of thanks. Thank you for reading and sharing my world with me. Thank you for your reviews and for your messages. I appreciate every single one, and every one of you.

And remember, you aren’t going to like everything that happens to our girl Tori, or everything that she has or will do, by the time we reach the end. But, I can pretty much guarantee that one thing is safe to say – there will be parts that you love, and you won’t be sorry that you read it, either.